Automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam
An automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam is mainly to install a foam collection port, a foam discharge port and foam guide channel on a body, which has a floating chamber that moves up and down according to the water levels. It is installed in a protein skimmer to reinforce the functionality and practicability of the protein skimmer by sucking and discharging the foams fractionated by the protein skimmer from the seawater or fresh water.
I. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a level control device for the discharge of foam, especially to a level controller that can automatically move up and down.
II. Description of the Invention
The aquarium, fish bowl, fishpond and sludge processing apparatus of the prior art are usually equipped with a separator for the purification of water, i.e. the oil skimmer, the protein skimmer in the aquarium.
Take the protein skimmer as example, the protein skimmers that are sold in the current markets work in general by injecting massive, very fine air bubbles by means of using either lime wood air stone or water pump. The rising air bubbles act as a lift, allowing the protein or oil in the water to attach to the bubbles and hitch a ride to the surface, where they are captured in a foam collection device. But the pollutants in the water, the specific gravity of the water and the quantity of injected air may affect the rising diversion of the air bubbles that shall decide either the quantity or the rising level of the air bubbles. The protein skimmer of the prior art comprises a foam collection device which is horizontally fixed cannot automatically move up and down according the rising levels of air bubbles. Under certain circumstances, the air bubbles may escape from the capture of the foam collection device and the organic compound attaching thereto may deposit in the water. Besides, the air bubbles may be in an excessive quantity that would urge intensive cleanings to the foam collection device. From the foregoing description, it is understood that the foam collection device attached to a fixed position may obstruct the function of a protein skimmer.
Therefore, providing an automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam that avoids the foregoing drawbacks is a pressing technical issue to be solved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONMain objective of the present invention is to provide an automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam that allows all the air bubbles lifting the waste substance from the seawater or fresh water to be captured and disposed of by the protein skimmer.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the automatic lifting level controller of the present invention is a body, on which are installed a foam collection port, a foam discharge port and a foam guide channel and in which is installed a floating chamber that can move up and down according to the water or foam's buoyancy.
The foregoing floating chamber is made of buoyant material or by a closed structure that can memorize the air.
The foregoing floating chamber has at least one porthole to install the buoyancy controller for discharging some of the air in the chamber so as to adjust the buoyancy of the floating chamber.
The foregoing foam discharge port has a valve to control the quantity of the air bubbles to be discharged.
The foregoing valve comprises a joint unit and a control unit that are installed above the foam discharge ports. The control unit comprises several guide holes and stoppers that correspond to the accesses on the joint unit and a discharge structure that connects to the guide holes. The control unit, which is parked on top of the joint unit, can move around for the guide holes or stoppers to connect to the accesses so as to obstruct or stop the foam discharge ports discharging the air bubbles.
The foregoing discharge structure is a discharge port that connects the accesses to outside.
The foregoing discharge structure comprises a lumen, which connects to the accesses, and a discharge port, which connects the lumen to outside.
The foregoing body comprises a cylinder discharge section where the floating chamber is installed on the bottom and the inner wall is extended outwardly to form a foam collection port.
The foregoing discharge section has a joint unit and several partitions inside that form the foam discharge ports.
A diversion pillar, which is made of buoyant material or by a closed structure that can memorize the air, is installed between the foregoing discharge section and the foam collection port.
The passage between the foregoing diversion pillar and the foam guide channel narrows to the top from the bottom.
The foregoing joint unit comprises a plinth that is locked on the top of the foregoing discharge section. This plinth has a joint element installed on the surface of one side and a holding element on the surface of the other side. The joint element is to be fixed on the joint base of the discharge section. There is a mortise to load the holding element on the foregoing control unit.
The foregoing joint base has thread hole to load the bolt on the foregoing joint unit.
The present invention provides an automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam that is an aqua décor and can insure the purification of water, comprising a body, on which are installed a foam collection port, a foam discharge port, and a foam guide channel, and in which is installed a floating chamber moving up and down according to the water or foam's buoyancy. By adopting the automatic lifting level controller of the present invention, the foams fractionated from the seawater or fresh water by the protein skimmer can all be captured for discharge.
In order that the structure, installation and desired features of the present invention will be better understood, the preferred embodiments thereof are described in detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The protein skimmer 10 in this embodiment comprises a cylinder tube 11 wherein an isolation chamber 12 is installed on the bottom to isolates the air bubbles, a producer 13 is accommodated in the isolation chamber 12 to produce the air bubbles and a valve 15 that controls the discharge of air bubbles is installed on top of the automatic lifting level controller 14. Besides, a foam collection device 16 that houses top half of the automatic lifting level controller 14 is parked on top of the cylinder tube 11. The cylinder tube of the protein skimmer 10 in this embodiment may be of any cubic shapes.
The cylinder tube 11 as shown by
The producer 13 as shown in
The first embodiment as shown in
Inside the body 141, there is a discharge element 144 that is a vertically positioned cylinder and penetrates through the hole of the top cap 112 into the foam collection device 16. In the lower part of the body 141, there are the floating chamber 145, which narrows to the top from the bottom, and a foam collect port 142 formed by the inner wall of the body.
The foam collection port 142 as shown in
The floating chamber 145, which is bell-bottom narrowing to the top from bottom, comprises the inner wall 150, the extension portion 148 and the support portion 149.
A diversion pillar 180 (the cone shape is the optimal choice) is right beneath the joint base 146 and in the foam guide channel that is located between the discharge element 144 and the foam collection port 142, and whose dimensions are subject to the specific gravity of water.
The extension portion 148 is vertically inserted into the lumen of the cylinder tube 11 that the support portion 149 can be combined with the top cap 112 so as to position the automatic lifting level controller 14 on the top of the cylinder tube 11. A sealed space is formed among the support portion 149, the extension portion 148 and the inner wall 150 of the cylinder tube lumen that provides the floating chamber 145 with certain buoyancy.
The floating chamber 145 can be made of material that has lower bubble density than water or foam or by a sealed structure that can memorize the air. The latter as shown in
According to the above description, the floating chamber 145 can be made either by a sealed space or of material that has lower bubble density than water or foam. It may have more than one porthole 1451 where to install a buoyancy controller 160 that can discharge some of the air in the chamber so as to adjust the buoyancy of the floating chamber 145, per
The rising air bubbles in the cylinder tube 11 are sucked into the foam collection port 142 and guided through the foam guide channel to the foam discharge ports 143. The cone-shaped diversion pillar 180 is in a bell-bottomed foam guide channel that assures the foam collection port to fast suck the air bubbles.
As shown in
The joint unit 151 comprises a disc-shaped plinth 1512 where a joint element 1513 is installed in the center on the surface of one side and a holding element 1514 on the surface of the other side. The joint element 1513 is loaded into the joint base 146 of the discharge element 144; specifically, screwing the joint element 1513, which is a bolt, into the joint base 146, which is a thread hole 1461 (
The four guide holes 1511 are equally spaced on the plinth 1512 and two foam discharge ports 143 can jut out from the guide holes. The accesses 1521 and the stoppers 1522 on the control unit 152 correspond to the guide holes 1511 on the joint unit 151. When the control unit 152 moves to certain angles, the stoppers 1522 may occlude partially or completely the guide holes 1511 to obstruct or stop the air bubbles from coming out from the foam discharge ports 143. A discharge structure that connects to the accesses 1521 is installed on the control unit 152 for the control unit 152 to discharge the air bubbles. The discharge structure in this embodiment refers to the discharge ports 1524 that guide the air bubbles discharged at the accesses 1521 into the foam collection device 16.
The foam collection device 16 as shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14A shown in
Other two protein skimmers 10″ that are shown in
Another protein skimmer 10′″ that is shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14B shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14C—the fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14D shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14E as shown in
With reference to
The automatic lifting level controller 14F shown in
The automatic lifting level controller 14G shown in
New characteristics and advantages of the present invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. Understanding is sought however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and not intended to be a definition of the limits of the present invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled and knowledgeable in the field.
To sum up, the “automatic lifting level controller” of the present invention can collect the pollutant air bubbles discharged from the protein skimmer, in either seawater or fresh water, so as to possess the “practicability” and the “advancement” of the industry. Furthermore, in view the structure of the present invention has never been disclosed in any publication or for any application, the present invention conforms to the requirements of the new utility model. This document is, therefore, submitted for applying the patent registration pursuant to the Patent Act.
Claims
1. An automatic lifting level controller for the discharge of foam comprises a body, on which are installed a foam collection port, a foam discharge port and a foam guide channel, the characteristic lies in: the body includes a floating chamber that can move up and down according to the water or foam's buoyancy.
2. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 1, the characteristic lies in: the floating chamber can be made of buoyant material or by a closed structure that can memorize the air.
3. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 1, the characteristic lies in: there are more than one porthole installed on the floating chamber to install a buoyancy controller that discharges part of the air in the chamber so as to control the buoyancy of the floating chamber.
4. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 1, the characteristic lies in: the foam discharge port has a valve to control the quantity of the air bubbles to be discharged.
5. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 4, the characteristic lies in: the valve comprises a joint unit and a control unit that are installed above the foam discharge ports. The former has guide holes that correspond to the accesses and stoppers on the latter. Besides, a discharge structure that connects to the accesses is installed on the control unit.
6. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 5, the characteristic lies in: the discharge structure is a discharge port that connects the accesses to outside.
7. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 5, the characteristic lies in: the discharge structure comprises a lumen that connects to the accesses and a discharge pipe that connects the lumen to outside.
8. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 1, the characteristic lies in: the body comprises a cylinder discharge section where the foam collection port is formed by the inner wall and enlarges from the top to the bottom.
9. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 8, the characteristic lies in: inside the discharge section, there are a joint base and the foam discharge ports, which are formed by the joint base, partition and the inner wall of the discharge section.
10. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 9, the characteristic lies in: a diversion pillar that is made of buoyant material or by a closed structure that can memorize the air is installed between the discharge section and the foam collection port.
11. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 10, the characteristic lies in: the passage between the diversion pillar and the foam guide channel narrows to the top from the bottom.
12. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 5, the characteristic lies in: the joint unit comprises a plinth that can be locked to the top of the discharge section. The plinth comprises a joint element on the surface of one side and a holding element on the surface of the other side. The joint element is fixed on the joint base of the discharge section. The holding element on the control unit has a mortise.
13. The automatic lifting level controller of claim 12, the characteristic lies in: the joint base has thread hole to load the tenon on the joint unit.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 6, 2007
Inventor: Tommy Chi-Kin Wong (Kowloon Bay)
Application Number: 11/582,432
International Classification: A01K 63/04 (20060101); C02F 1/24 (20060101);